The flooding strained the city’s fragile water system, leaving many unable to flush their toilets.
What’s even more shocking is that this is becoming a daily occurrence in Jackson. July. It wasn’t the first time.
Visit from EPA. Back in November, when Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan visited Jackson to talk about water equity, he saw the city’s problems firsthand.
A local school he visited was demolished early that morning due to low water pressure, and that same evening officials said it was a “bad batch of chemicals” used to clean the water. Therefore, a boiling water notice was issued.
according to local reports.
Shortly thereafter, Regan mentioned
Jackson said the EPA
give Mississippi $75 million From the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act for Water Projects. The money is split statewide.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antal Lumumba, a Democrat, told CNN on Tuesday, “We’ve been practically solving persistent water problems for the better part of two years. We’re asking for help we can get.” screaming
Jackson resident Mississippi Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on Tuesday that his family couldn’t boil water Monday night because the faucets were only coming out with air. rice field.
By Tuesday morning discolored water was coming out of his tap and he was able to use it to flush the toilet.
“This has been going on for years, but it may take these catastrophes before this catastrophe comes to light,” he said.
the state intervenes. Concerned about not having enough water pressure to deal with the fires, the governor stepped in on Tuesday to activate up to 4,500 members of the National Guard.
Read CNN’s full report.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said Tuesday that “we will do everything in our power to restore water pressure and bring water back to the people of Jackson.”
But the state was useless before. The city requested $47 million to weather the crisis in water and wastewater repairs after the 2021 storm.state legislature
only gave jackson
Some say $3 million
Report from CNN in April.
Help the crumbling infrastructure. need to deal The issue of infrastructure collapse is one with bipartisan consensus. Republicans and Democrats in Washington passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law last November.
Of the four Mississippi Congressmen, only Rep. Benny Thompson voted to spend money on things like water. in the Senate,
Senator Roger Wicker The Governor of Mississippi was one of the Republicans who helped the bill defeat the filibuster and become law. Senator Cindy Hyde Smith opposed the spending.
See how senators voted for infrastructure packages.Maybe you don’t have enough money. The Infrastructure Act allocates $283 million for water infrastructure.
According to Wickerbut as of July,
White House information sheet $75 million is listed in statewide funding of this kind for fiscal 2022, most of which is focused on lead pipe replacement.
Jackson’s mayor said his city was “
literally” would need $1 billion to replace the entire water system.
Disagreements about funding. separate invoice,
american rescue plan, a bill passed only by Democrats during the pandemic also created funding for water programs.Mississippi is making these funds
It’s available through a grant program that splits costs with cities like Jackson, according to .
Nonprofit Mississippi Today.
Lumumba and Reeves previously disagreed over the exact amount of money Jackson got from the American Rescue Plan.
For $44 million, the money was spent on water systems and public safety, he said.
WJTV report From before the flood, but during the notification of boiling water.
Split costs. Reeves also revealed in his disaster declaration statement:
he will split the cost Regarding emergency response with the city.
10 year problem. The EPA has cited Jackson many times.
last 10 yearsinclude
Most recently July 2021 A tough plan to fix the water system.
Kamerota asked Crudup Jr. Who would he blame for the situation.
“I’m not here to play the blame game right now. We’ve been passing this money around for years. This has been going on for decades.” and Crudup Jr. Said. “Even in the last two years, we’ve dealt with things over and over again, so I’m glad the Governor has decided to go ahead and step up to the plate and help us now. .”
Many people worry about drinking water. Clean, safe drinking water is the number one environmental concern for Americans.
A majority of 56% said:
2021 Gallup Survey They are very concerned about contamination of drinking water. A further 24% are very concerned about drinking water.
But people aren’t as worried as they used to be. 72% said they were very worried about environmental pollution in 2000. Democrats tend to worry more than Republicans.
of
May Individual Vote Carol Dougherty, director of political research at the Pew Research Center, notes in this year’s survey that low-income adults are more likely to cite drinking water safety as a community issue.Black Americans were more likely than whites and Hispanics to
Drinking water safety is an issue.
Communities of color are likely to be affected Water problems are a sad and well-documented phenomenon.
The government-appointed Michigan Civil Rights Commission found that systemic racism contributed to Flint’s water crisis.
Read more about CNN’s 2017 report. A few years later,
Politico reported in 2020many Flint residents still don’t trust the water.
